Christian, Jesus expects you to be sinless

* ... yes .. you heard it right *

Christian, Jesus expects you to be sinless ... yes .. you heard it right. I didn't say it ... the Bible did. Christians somehow (mostly through church teaching) expect that after they become Christians, they will continue sinning until they die and become less and less sinless each day. They also have this idea that it is impossible to be sinless. Is this what the Bible actually teaches? Well let's see what the Bible says about sin as it pertains to Christians:

Romans 6 1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

¹¹ So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. ¹² Do not let sin control the way you live;^[a] do not give in to sinful desires. ¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. ¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Colossians 2:11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.

Colossians 3:5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

1 John 2:1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

1 John:4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.

1 John 4: 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life[a] is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.

Matthew 5: 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

I know the above verses are a lot but I wanted it to be abundantly clear from the Bible that Christians are expected to be sinless ... not people who sometimes sin. God expects us to be perfect ... that is what Jesus said. So now that we have established that Christians shouldn't sin ... the million Ghana cedi question is this ... how does a Christian become sinless? The answer to this will surprise a lot of you. Every Christian is already sinless! Again, I will let the Bible speak for itself on this. The basic idea here is that Jesus gave you his righteousness when you became a Christian so your spirit is born of God's spirit without Adam's sin. It is perfect! It is sinless!

John 16:10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more.

Romans 5:17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

Philippians 3:9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

So Jesus obtained sinlessness for us and we receive it by faith when we become Christians. We can't see it or feel it but we are confident that we have it. Fellow Christians, once you have something by faith, you actually have it and if you keep it by faith and act on it, you will realize its physical manifestation. So I guess you are now wondering ... so I am sinless and I have Christ's righteousness, but why do I sometimes sin? Well I will put it to you that it is because you are trying to do too many things at once. There are only 4 things you need to do to exercise your faith in the perfection God has imputed onto you through Jesus Christ ... only 4 things!

1. Always remember that you live righteously by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. Not by your own doing.
2. Transform your mind by renewing it with God's Word.
3. Love God with all your heart, mind, strength and soul.
4. Love your neighbor as yourself.

So for every decision you make and every action you take, you really just have to consult with the Holy Spirit and be sure that it is in love to God and to any of your neighbors involved. It really is that simple. Many Christians are trying to fight one on one with their various sins and keep failing. They keep forgetting that there is an easier way. Again here are the scriptures to prove this:

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ :39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

1 Corinthians 16:14 And do everything with love.

Colossians 3:14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

1 Peter 4:8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

2 John 1:6 Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

 

Now finally, you might be wondering ... so what is love? The last verse above gives us a clue but here is another one from the Bible that spells it out clearly:

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

It means there is no secret formula to love. You love can be verified and proved. Love is action ... it is not how you feel or what you believe ... but rather what you think, say and do. Please don't let anyone complicate things for you with complex theologies and doctrines. The Bible says it in a very simple way and I will summarize it here again:

All Christians are supposed to live righteously without sin. We have Christ's righteousness which we receive through faith and live by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. The practical implications and way to do this living is to love ... to love God and to love our neighbors with every thought, word, or deed. Love is action and constantly loving is what sinless living is.

 

Blessings and Regards,

George Armah